Temperature reduction material



y 3, 1940. E. c. RILEY 2,208,855

TEMPERATURE REDUCTION MATERIAL Filed July 7, 1938 INVENTOR W H! TORNEY Patented July 23, 1940 UNITED STATES TEMPERATURE REDUCTION MATERIAL Edward C. Riley, Laurelton, N. Y., 'assignor to American Sponge & Chamois Co., Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 7, 1938, Serial No. 218,037

3 Claims.

This invention relates to temperature reducing material and to the method of producing same.

For the purpose of reducing temperatures in a variety of instances it is advantageous to employ a refrigerant. Often, however, the inherent properties of the particular refrigerant employed and the peculiarities of the particular instance of use render its application diflicult.

Pursuant to this invention a suitable refrigerant is dispersed throughout a suitable inert porous carrier prior to utilization for temperature reducing purposes, the intimate combination of refrigerant and carrier providing an eflicient temperature reducing material.

Particular objects of the invention are to provide a combination as aforesaid that is capable of retaining its temperature reducing properties over a considerable period of time; to provide a combination as aforesaid that is capable of direct application in a variety of instances without harmful effect; to provide a combination as aforesaid that is capable of repeated applications exhaustive of its temperature reducing properties, by intermediate processing; to provide a combination as aforesaid that may be dimensioned and shaped for specialized application; and to provide a combination as aforesaid having differential cooling areas.

The enumerated objects may be, and advantageously are, had by a combination of a frozen substance, such as ice, with a natural or cellulosic sponge material, the substance being frozen from a controlled quantity of same dispersed throughout the porous body of the sponge.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 represents a perspective of a piece of cellulosic sponge preparatory to processing pursuant to the invention.

Fig. 2 represents a cold-pack formed from a piece of cellulosic sponge embodying differential areas of cold, the cold-pack being pre-shaped for immediate application; and

Fig. 3 illustrates the cold-pack of Fig. 2 in place on the forehead of a patient.

. With reference to the drawing:-the sponge material employed as the inert porous carrier for the refrigerant may be natural marine sponge,

but is preferably artificial sponge of cellulosic nature, sponge of the latter type and various 5o methods of producing same being matters of common knowledge.

The cellulosic artificial sponge is advantageous, chiefly, because it may be produced in practically any desired form, inclusive of thin sheets,

55 blocks, or various-special formations, the configuration and dimensions of the particular piece being determined by the manner in which the same is cut from the comparatively large mass resulting from the sponge manufacture. Other advantages of cellulosic artificial sponge over 5 and above natural sponge is its more uniform pore structure and its inherent toughness.

A rectangular, relatively thin block of cellulosic sponge, for processing pursuant to this invention to form a temperature reducing material 10 for various purposes, is illustrated in Fig. 1.

In preparing the temperature reducing material, the selected piece of sponge, as for example, that illustrated in Fig. 1, is impregnated with a refrigerant which is non-destructive of the ma- 15 terial of the sponge. Refrigerants successfully employed have been a variety of liquids inclusive of water, oils, (ii-ethylene glycol, glycerine, etc. frozen subsequent to impregnation in the sponge material. Fluid refrigerant such as ethylene gas 20 and ethyl chloride vapor have also been found to permeate and be retained by the sponge as a carrier. In general, ethylene and compounds of ethylene coming within the classification of refrigerant, and ethyl compounds coming within 25 the same classification may be employed. The type of refrigerant selected will be determined in large measure by the character of the particular use of the temperaturereducing material. For most purposes it is preferable that the refrigerant be water frozen to ice.

In the use of a freezable liquid, such as water,

the saturated sponge is preferably squeezed to remove a limited portion of the absorbed liquid. The exact quantity of liquid allowed to remain dispersed throughout the porous body of the sponge may vary within relatively wide limits, depending upon particular circumstances of use. In most cases, however, to insure retention of liquid resulting from thawing of the frozen liquid, the quantity of liquid initially allowed to remain dispersed in the sponge will be considerably less than the maximum quantity capable of retention by the sponge.

The liquid containing sponge is subjected to freezing temperature, as, for instance, within the ice-making compartment of an ordinary icemaking machine such as a domestic electric refrigerator. The resulting product is a porous frozen material having relatively free and open pore passages- Because of the inherent nature of the sponge material the refrigerantdispersed therethrough is efiectively insulated from the outside atmosphere, and is conditioned for particularly eflec- 55 tive application in a variety of instances of use. Because of the insulation, liquids are retained in frozen condition over an extended period of time.

The temperature reducing material of this invention may be utilized in a variety of ways. It

is particularly advantageous as a cold pack for medical purposes. When so used, it may be prepared, as aforedescribed, with water frozen to ice as the refrigerant. The material in this form is semi-flexible, and may be forcibly shaped for application to irregularly conflgurated parts of the body of a patient, the material being retained in itsso shaped form by a gauze wrapping, adhesive plaster, or similar securing means While this form of cold pack is preferred for ordinary purposes, there will be hereinafter described an embodiment of the invention having special attributes relative to use as a cold pack. Other instances of use may be found in the field of air conditioning wherein air to be conditioned is passed through the pore passages of the temperature reducing material for combined cooling and filtering. Again, enclosed storage spaces may be cooled by surrounding thermal conductive enclosing walls with the material of the instant invention.

When it is advantageous to employ, as the refrigerant, a liquid having a considerably lower freezing point than water, the liquid-containing sponge is subjected to temperatures at least as low as the freezing point of such liquids. For this purpose, solidified carbon dioxide, commonly known as dry ice, may be employed as the freezing agent. The reaction of the liquid and of the sponge to such low temperature is such that the material becomes freely flexible and will retain shape thereafter imparted to it.

An effective form of cold-pack for medical purposes is had by producing differential areas of cold for the temperature reducing material. This is accomplished, preferably, by subjecting one major surface of a piece of sponge, similar to that of Fig. 1, water filled, to ordinary freezing temperatures productive of ice, see Ill, Fig. 2. The other.major surface of the piece of sponge is subjected to the sub-zero freezing action of solidified carbon dioxide, or similar agent, pro ductive of chemical reaction of the contained water and of freezing of the constituents thereof see H, Fig. 2. The resulting product is a temperature reducing material having differential areas of cold, specifically, the areas I 0 and II, the area i0 being capable of direct application to the skin of a patient when the material is utilized as a cold pack without likelihood of producing harmful effects, and the area ll imparting flexibility and shape retaining properties to the material as well as intensified cold.

The cold pack, provided with differential areas of cold and shaped as illustrated in Fig. 2, may be applied to a patient in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3.

Whereas this invention has been illustrated and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be clearly understood that various changes may be made from time to time without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined herein and in the claims that follow.

I claim:

1. A cold applicator for medical purposes comprising sponge material having a body zone, which comprehends one surface area, containing water frozen to ice at the normal freezing temperature, and an adjacent opposite body Zone containing water frozen to ice at a temperature commensurate with that of solidified carbon dioxide.

2. A method of producing a cold applicator for medical purposes comprising subjecting moisture-containing sponge material to normal freezing temperature at one side thereof and to a temperature substantially commensurate with that of solidified carbon dioxide at an opposite side thereof.

3. A temperature reducing material comprising frozen, moisture-impregnated sponge, said sponge having such a low temperature as to have the properties of flexibility and shape retention after flexure.

EDWARD C. RILEY. 

